WEEK 11 has arrived. I thought I would take a short moment to explain the title of my blog "weinackersachillesheal". I have had one friend, and only one, who has had the fortitude to say "Weinacker, you spelled 'heal' wrong." Thanks John Millon for being that friend who tells you when you have that little green piece of spinach so delicately wedged between your front teeth. Either I only have one good friend, or no one else can properly use the homonyms "heal" and "heel" correctly, or no one has noticed....or most likely, no one cares! But, I do. Because when I started this blog I was so frustrated with my right Achilles heel and the chronic pain I was having when I ran, I chose to express it in my blog name. I wanted my heel to "heal," so I in desperate vain typed my blogger site address very emphatically to be "weinackerachillesheal"......as I do so now, pressing each key very hard. I'm sorry computer keyboard to take my frustrations out on you for you are such a dear little keyboard to me, polished and smooth and worthy of my admiration. :). AND, thankfully my Achilles has not been a huge problem. I will have to change my blogger site to weinackersrighttopfootheal before too long I suppose. So, week 11 has arrived and along with it the forecast of snow. Enough of a "significant event" is predicted that all South Carolinians are tractoring it to the store buying cases of bread, milk, sweet tea and fried chicken. The weather will determine which days I run, when and if the roads are driveable.......I'm ready for week 11, bring on the challenges (small ones please :)
1/10/10 Challenge 1 is here...a big one, 8 inches of snow. Here is my snow-punk face. I also stole Santa's boots off a prop in the restaurant to use for the next few days. I go from green tempo shoes to Santa's clod hoppers. I would like to see anyone run a marathon in these things!
1/12: Goal: 1 easy, 10 at marathon pace. Danette and I were eager to get back out and start running after two days of being snowed in at our respective homes. I was the first to arrive at the track. I eagerly opened the door to greet my friend the track with two open feet. As I stepped thru the snow and ice onto the track I suddenly realized that the track, my marathon friend, a pivotal training partner, had been reincarnated as an ice-skating rink. The track was completely useless unless Danette and I donned our skates. Danette arrived shortly after, and we hemmed and we hawed and attempted to come up with a secondary plan. Well, it just so happened to be, at that very moment, the Clemson University Div. I track team was running a workout on their warm indoor, beautifully crafted track. Did I mention it was warm in there? I asked a very nice track athlete if he thought his coach would mind if two very quite, very meek girls, would mind if they tiptoed on the very outskirts of the track when they were practicing. He basically said his coach was a X&#^# and I should not bother to ask. Well, we tried!
So, new game plan. Danette and I would leave our safe track, our friend, and run on the ROAD, something I had not done since Dec. 5th or there abouts when I ran the Clemson Downs 5k. My last time out on the free road was quickly nipped in the butt over a month ago when my poor, osteopenic foot could not handle the harsh pounding of the concrete and I was destined to be a swimmer forever! Ok, enough side melodrama, but running on the road scares me! Danette and I would rather run 60-80 laps in a circle then risk injury by unlevel terrain or pounding on our joints. But, we are after all, running a marathon on the road, aren't we? So, out 
onto the streets of Clemson we did venture!
The run quickly turned into a cold adventure. We literally ran in the streets because the sidewalks were covered with snow and ice pushed to the side by large plow trucks. It was frigid, with gusting winds creating a mind boggling coldness. We were crazy runners, on a fervent missions, dancing around the terrain as if booby traps were under our feet. We were forced to continually stop and delicately tap around chunks of snow and black ice interupting any type of pace we were gunning for. We were insane for running out there and got some terribly awful great looks.
Running on the road was scary and served as a great reminder as to why Danette and I are running safely on the track for each workout. It is our comfort zone, it is our pacifier. I could feel the very pounding of each step to the smallest bones of my body. We were like caged animals, once tamed to the demands of society, then released into the wild once again. We didn't know how to act, what to do. We ran wild eyed into the streets of Clemson. Luckily, instinct kicked in and we dominated with a kick*** run. Free at last! I say, free at last! as we breathed in the scenery with each step and we didn't have to run in circles like a dog chasing after its own tail! After our wild scamper, I'm ready to head back to the track where it is safe. I'm just saying, I miss my old friend who is always so forgiving on my body and my mind. It's dangerous out there!
DISTANCE: 8 miles
Avg. HR: 144bpm
1/14 SPRINT DAY! I've never done this workout before.....warm-up, 4 X 1200m repeats, cool down. The goal was to run the repeats at a consistent 5:10 split for each one. Well the first one was slow, a 5:16....totally unacceptable. And, in true Weinacker fashion, the last 3 1200M repeats were respectively, 4:55, 5:00, and 4:50. This is not something I'm proud of. If I can critique myself for just one moment, the goal is to run 5:10's, no more, no less. It is important to 'feel' the pace. In the marathon my goal is to run an even pace throughout the entire race. This is why I have already decided to position myself with the 3:40 pace team that is offered at Albany. I recognize that I am a new runner and with time I will become more in tune with feeling the paces. Great day of self discipline on a finally defrosted Clemson track. The warmest thing on the track was the Miami University track team that was warming up for an indoor meet. I know they had to be cold coming up from Florida!
1/16 LONG RUN- Goal: 18 miles at 8:53 pace. This was a very entertaining run because I borrowed an IPOD Shuffle from work and got to listen to the top 100 songs of the year. Yes, I'm very easily amused because I NEVER run with music and so this was a nice distraction as I ran in circles for 72 laps at the Clemson Track. The best part of the run was pacing with fellow runners Danette and Todd for 4 miles. Then, with just a few miles to go, miles 15-18 for mej, when I was really starting to feel all those little aches and pains, my good friend Danette, sacrificing her own pace jumped up the front and paced me home for the last 12 laps. Such a blessing! Running a marathon is mental, at least 90%. Everything starts to hurt when you go farther and farther. It is how you deal with this that really determines the champion. I went into this run with not much sleep because of on-call responsibilities at work. Right before the run I told family that their loved one had passed, made funeral arrangements, and notified the coroner and doctor of the resident's death. I may not sleep before the marathon because I am so excited, I may have to adapt and be flexible as obstacles are thrown at me. Today, Danette and I forged ahead and killed the 18 mile run.
AVG. PACE: 8:32
AVG. HR: 152bpm
EKE, I guess I would rather have a head cold now then turn into a head case at any time! I've been busy resting, eating lots of garlic, drinking lots of green tea and doing anything possible to keep this respiratory debacle at bay. If standing on your head helps, I'll do it! This week I am completely back on track with the Run Less, Run Faster book. I want to make sure to peak with training then taper appropriately according to the plan to be in finest form on March 5th. I have the exciting and yet dreaded, 20 mile run, at the end of this week. But first, I'm going to rest up and shake this head cold so I get back out there and kill these workouts :).......going to take a nap now .................zzzzzz....zzzz....zzzz.. ..z z.zz
